New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone called the Houston Astros allegedly wearing buzzers under uniforms one of the “great unknowns.”
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone had his first press conference of spring training on Wednesday. Naturally, he was asked about the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and if he thought the team’s players wore pitch-signaling buzzers under their uniforms.
As he addressed several reporters, including Brendan Kuty of NJ.com, Boone played coy.
Aaron Boone on Astros/possible buzzers. Is Boone convinced Astros weren't using them? "No. That certainly one of those great unknowns. Certainly, I’ve spent time, as I’m sure a lot of people have, wondering all the things that could have potentially been going on."
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) February 12, 2020
To give a quick recap, the Astros were found to have stolen signs using electronic equipment in 2017. A system was designed so Houston’s hitters could know what pitches were coming in real-time. The buzzer theory sprung from Astros second baseman Jose Altuve asking teammates not to rip his jersey off following his series-clinching home run in Game 6 of last year’s ALCS.
However, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s report found no evidence of the buzzers existing.
Still, Boone is saying a lot more than people may realize. Even more details of Houston’s cheating have emerged since Manfred’s report was released. Moreover, in a recent interview, former Astros manager A.J. Hinch did not deny the buzzers’ existence.
Not to sound like a broken record but this is exactly what Boone and his team need to do. Just keep Houston’s cheating a talking point throughout spring training. This way, it doesn’t allow the MLB to just let the story fade away. Rather, it instead forces Manfred to keep the Astros under the microscope.
This way, any additional methods the Astros might have used to cheat beyond 2017 can be discovered and squashed quickly.
Given how some Yankees feel cheated out of a World Series thanks to Houston’s antics, count on Boone and his players making similar comments throughout the spring.
